As the need for agricultural efficiency and productivity continues to increase, producers must find ways to maximize their crop's potential. Precision agriculture devices and methods are showing great promise in meeting the world's needs for efficient agricultural practices and are becoming a staple in most row crop producers' management strategies, particularly with regard to grains and cereals. The development of precision agriculture devices and methods that would be applicable to the harvest of underground crops could similarly improve crop management and profits.
Initial harvesting (digging) is the highest loss point during cultivation of underground crops such as peanuts, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, ginger, garlic, turnips, carrots, rutabagas, and the like. To prevent losses during digging, it is critical that proper settings for the digging implements are maintained across the field. Unfortunately, soil texture (e.g., friability) often varies across a single field, and variation in soil texture can alter the depth of the implement (e.g., the blade) as the harvester travels across the field. For instance, as shown in FIG. 1A, at proper settings for a typical peanut harvester, the blade depth will be such that the taproot is sheared and a moderate amount of soil is carried on the blade as most or all of the pods are harvested. Upon travel into an area of the field in which the soil texture is less friable and harder to cut through, e.g., containing a higher proportion of clay, the same settings will locate the blade too shallow, as shown in FIG. 1B, causing some pods to be sheared and leaving others in the soil. Similarly, if the soil is too soft for the settings, the blade can go too deep (FIG. 1C), causing the taproot to be cut too deep or even ripped from the ground and excessive soil to build up on the blades, which can cause losses by pushing the plants forward before the taproot is severed and prevent proper inversion. Further losses can occur as pods ride over the excessive soil that is mounded on the blades.
Thus, a need exists for control systems and methods that can be used to improve harvesting of underground crops across a variety of soil textures. The successful development of commercially available automated devices and methods will translate to increases in profit in crop production and more sustainable land use.